Ellen van Dijk Interview

Ellen van Dijk: The Best Dutch Rider You’ve Never Heard Of

Time-trial-specialist Ellen van Dijk of Specialized-lululemon is one of a formidable crop of lightning-fast women from the Netherlands who are setting the pro peloton on fire.

james startt

(Photo by James Startt)

Bicycling: You grew up in Holland and started speed skating very early. As a cyclist, you have also done a fair amount of track racing. Is there a connection between the two for you?

Ellen Van Dijk: I think so. Track racing is kind of similar, just 3 kilometers flat out, and in speed skating 3 kilometers was my thing. I started racing on the track in 2008 and immediately was pretty good at it. But now I am taking a break from it for a while, at least until the next Olympic Games.

And the track racing certainly helps certain aspects of road racing.

Yeah, it helps a lot on the road. It’s good for leg speed and it’s a lot of fun. That said, it is also different from riding on the road because it is very high intensity and requires a lot of recovery.

A lot of aspects of track riding really translate into time trialing, and you are one of the best. But time trialists often get stuck on teams as workers and don’t get a chance to ride for themselves. Is that ever a problem for you?

No. I like to work for others. It’s a lot of fun. But there has to be a balance. My character is not one that always needs to win, but once in a while I also like to have my chances and win because everybody likes and wants to have results. On this team you get those chances if you are good enough.

At the Olympics you had to work for Marianne Vos. Was that frustrating in the sense that you could not even think about riding for yourself?

I never thought about it that way. My focus was the time trial. I only found out a couple of months before that I had to ride the road race to start the time trial. So I started the road race in a helping situation and I just figured that it would be a good experience. So when it comes to the Olympics I never even had the opportunity to ask, “What if?”

You’ve ridden with Vos more than most, because you grew up racing together in Holland. What impresses you the most about her?

Yeah, actually we are the same age. First, she is so competitive it is crazy. She wants to win at everything. She just wants to be the best. But she is still the same Marianne that she was 10 years ago. She is really humble and that is really cool.

We have talked a lot this year about parity in cycling. What are some ways you can see for the sport to improve in this area?

I think it has to start by having a women’s race for every big men’s event. We already have the Flèche-Wallonne and Flanders, and it would be awesome to also have a women’s Paris-Roubaix, for example, or an Amstel Gold Race or Liège-Bastogne-Liège. To have a women's Tour de France would give us the chance for some real exposure. They don’t have to broadcast the whole race—even highlights or a five-minute summary of our race would be good.

Do you think the UCI should do something like mandate that all WorldTour teams have a women’s division?

That would be really cool. I rode for HTC also and it brings a level of professionalism to our sport. Our team today is really professional, but then Kristy [Scyrmgeour, the general manager] was at HTC and brought a lot of knowledge. Rabobank and Orica had women’s teams and brought them up to a good level. Some women’s teams have the budget but lack professionalism.

Are there countries where women’s cycling gets more exposure and more respect?

The Netherlands is getting better, much because of Marianne Vos. A lot of people know her so there is more attention to women’s cycling. And all of us that were teammates with her at the Olympics got extra attention and that was really cool.
In a strange way Holland was perhaps hit the hardest with the recent Armstrong affair as longtime women’s sponsor Rabobank pulled out. Do you feel that the doping scandals in the men’s side of the sport have hurt the women’s side?

Well, not me personally, but it is just that so many people have a negative view of cycling. But on the other hand a lot of people think that women’s cycling is much cleaner, and I think that has been the case.
Why do you think so?

Well, the money for one thing. And then the top level of women’s cycling is not as deep. When I race in Holland, I still race against women who work 40 hours a week. And that is not the case for the men. They are only professional cyclists. As a result, the step to the top is a little easier in women’s cycling so you don’t need doping to get you there.

This team is very interested in reaching different people, not only through the media, but also with its partnerships with organizations like Right To Play. Sometimes you hear people say, “After seeing your video, my wife and daughter are now riding 5,000 kilometers a year!” That’s really cool when you can inspire people.

What was the most satisfying thing for you in 2012?

Winning the world championship team time trial. It was just such a focus for the team. We were the favorites so second place would have been frustrating. But we won, and that was such a relief and just so inspiring because we worked so hard to get it.